Apex Legends Season 14 review: Respawn hunt issues with welcomed change
The Apex Legends Season 14 has been well received among the community, bringing a positive buzz and increase in popularity for Respawn’s Battle Royale as they introduce mass change.
Apex Legends players have had some time to enjoy the new Season 14 update, which has brought a plethora of new content and changes to refresh the Battle Royale.
In the previous season, the popularity of Apex was in decline and players were slightly disappointed with the lack of content and meta changes. Having said that, it seems the community’s experience with Season 13 has influenced the Season 14 update.
With that said, let’s get into our review of Season 14, as it seems the update has brought some excitement back to Apex Legends, despite some minor improvements still being needed.
Apex Legends Season 14 review
Vantage and Echo bring the fun
The Apex Legends Season 14 Legend, Vantage, has introduced a fun and exciting way to play the Battle Royale. Most FPS gamers tend to enjoy a bit of sniping every so often, as the devastating power of the weapon category can make for satisfying gameplay.
This ethos is essentially the idea behind Vantage, as her sniper-focused kit provides unique and exciting gameplay opportunities that players seem to be enjoying according to the Season 14 pick rates.
Combined with the sniper gameplay, her bat companion, Echo, also makes for some great gameplay moments, as Vantage can order Echo around the map and jump to its location.
Both the Sniper’s Mark and Echo Relocation abilities compliment each other extremely well and having the mobility option also means that Vantage can compete with the meta, which is dominated by Legends who have quick relocation/escape tools.
King’s Canyon refreshed with Relic and more
Respawn Entertainment With the Season 14 update, Kings Canyon finally returned to the map rotation, but with some pretty drastic changes.
First off, the brand-new Relic POI is a great location for players to drop hot and battle it out, much like its predecessor, Skulltown. Unlike the chaotic experience that was Skulltown, Relic is more open and provides many more opportunities for players to get loot in the area.
Having said that, it still provides the thrill and excitement of Skulltown, giving players a great POI to land at if they wish to engage right off drop.
Further, Kings Canyon has also had many more minor changes which have greatly helped the map’s flow. Choke points and various other rotations have been tweaked so that players can predict enemy movements better. These changes have helped Kings Canyon become a more formulated experience rather than third-party central.
Buffs & nerfs bring a much-needed meta shift
Apex Legends Season 14 saw a heap of changes in the patch notes, including a variety of buffs and nerfs to both Legends and weapons. Prior to this season, players had been calling for the devs to bring a drastic meta change, and so far, it seems the devs have delivered.
The buffs to Mad Maggie have brought huge ramifications to the overall Legend meta, as Maggie is now an extremely good counter to Gibraltar and various other defensive Legends.
The Valkyrie nerfs have tamed the incredibly popular Recon Legend, bringing her back in line with the rest. Further, the buff to Newcastle has also increased the Legend output greatly, now possessing arguably the best revive in the game.
Weapons saw some pretty huge changes as well, with the Spitfire and Wingman both changing weapon categories. The overall balancing and RNG for weapons found in floor loot feels a lot better than last season, which will have also been influenced by the Replicator and Care Package changes.
Overall, the changes to both weapons and Legends have brought a healthy shift in the meta, giving rise to the more underused Legends in the game and also giving players a reason to use a wider range of Legends thanks to buffs and nerfs.
Verdict 8/10
Despite minor issues with glitches and bugs, Apex Legends Season 14 is a refreshing update that brings fun and excitement back to Respawn’s Battle Royale. The devs are clearly listening to the community as well, providing a wanted quality of life change, ranked changes, and offering more than one way to play with the new Battle Pass challenges.
Image Credits: Respawn Entertainment